Laxers aim to continue winning ways

By DON WAGNER
Collegian Sports Writer

Last season was Don Zimmerman's first year as the men's lacrosse coach at Maryland-Baltimore County. Nine games into his inaugural campaign, he had his first encounter with Penn State. The 15-5 loss -- Zimmerman's worst in the season to that point -- left a lasting impression.

At 1 p.m. tomorrow, his Golden Retrievers host the No. 10 Lions (6-1). For Zimmerman, the game this year is going to be just as tough as it was last year.

"Penn State is playing great right now," he said. "We have a lot of injuries and it's just not a good time for us to be playing them."

Good time or not, the Lions will be coming to play, and they won't be taking the Golden Retrievers lightly.

"We have to be ready to play," Lion Coach Glenn Thiel said. "We have to realize their talent."

That talent lies in players like goalie Chris Brown, who was a junior college All-American, and midfielders Matt Shearer and Greg Sabo, who were third and fifth, respectively, on the team in scoring last year.

Thiel said he wants his players to realize that UMBC is a program on the rebound that will be looking to make a name for itself this weekend.

"With their upcoming games against Maryland and Virginia, if they knock off a top-10 team, then they let everyone know they're back," Thiel said. "If we aren't ready for them, it'll be a long weekend."

For UMBC's Zimmerman, facing the Lions means facing a very athletic squad.

"One of the hardest things about playing Penn State is that they play solid defense," he said. "That makes it hard to key in on just one player."

But if Zimmerman had to pick two players to key in on, it would be attackmen Erik Merkel and Greg Jackson, who he describes as "All-America material" and very tough to defend.

One thing in the Retrievers' favor, however, may be the absence of Lion midfielder Steve Lehman, who will miss a few games with an injury. Someone will have to step up and pick up the slack this weekend, Thiel said.